The kanji 勧 generally conveys the meaning of "to encourage," "to recommend," or "to advise." It implies the act of persuading or urging someone to do something, often for their benefit or the benefit of a group. It can also suggest advocating for or promoting something.

・On-yomi (音読み): ⚫︎ カン (kan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ⚫︎ すす（める） (susume(ru))

⚫︎ 勧誘 (kan'yuu) Translation: Solicitation; persuasion; invitation. ⚫︎ 勧告 (kankoku) Translation: Recommendation; advice; counsel. ⚫︎ お勧め (o-susume) Translation: Recommendation; suggestion (polite form).

The kanji 勧 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. This means it combines a semantic component (meaning) and a phonetic component (sound). ⚫︎ The semantic component is 刀 (katabira). It means "a knife". ⚫︎ The phonetic component is 隹 (tori), which represents "a small bird". ⚫︎ Together, these elements suggest "to urge" or "to encourage". The knife element might have originally indicated "to carve" or "to urge". The original meaning of the character was to persuade and encourage. Over time, the character evolved to represent its current meanings.